


the colours of your heart (match mine)

by TheQueenInTheNorth



Series: kasinara soulmate aus [7]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, no lighthouse au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-06 02:03:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15876210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheQueenInTheNorth/pseuds/TheQueenInTheNorth
Summary: Kasius meets a soldier that turns his world upside down in more ways than one.





	the colours of your heart (match mine)

The panic did not lessen when his generals collapsed. He was safe from them now, yes, but whoever had killed them would surely want him dead as well.

The soldier in question wore the uniform of the Empire, however. Not part of the enemy army. Alas, considering the circumstances, that hardly assured him she meant no harm.

She seemed almost bored, face entirely expressionless as the silver orbs that had shattered his general’s spines returned to her hand.

“You alright?” Her inflexion gave away as little as her expression.

Kasius almost laughed at the absurdity of the question. Of course he wasn’t.“Why did you do that?”

“You told them to stand aside,”she said, head tilted ever so slightly.“They did not.”

“And so you took it upon yourself to execute them.” He stepped towards her in a feeble attempt of regaining some sort of control, or failing that at least the air of such.“A bold decision. They were your commanding officers.”

“And you theirs.” She held his gaze, paying no heed to the blood streaming down her face from the cut on her forehead.“And the Emperor’s son at that.”

Ah, now they’d gotten to the heart of the matter. Kasius could not stop his face from twisting into a disdainful grimace.“You will not gain my father’s favour by saving my life.”

“Did I gain yours?”she queried. There was a crack in her expressionless mask, now. Just the slightest hint of a smirk.

“Perhaps.” He found himself smiling. The adrenaline, probably.“It really depends on whether you’re planning on stopping me from leaving.”

“If that’s what you want to do, I’ll escort you to a ship.” She gave him a once-over, the smirk now more pronounced.“May I suggest winning the battle instead, Commander?”

This time, he did laugh.“It’s unwinnable.”

She shrugged.“Depends. How good a pilot are you?”

* * *

Later, he could not think what had come over him to agree to her plan. It sounded near as certain to end with them both dead as it was likely to succeed. But it was a strategy his father wouldn’t approve of, and one he had not thought to implement himself. It was intriguing. She was intriguing.

“You were right,”were the first words out of her mouth when she walked into the cockpit, arm slung around her ribcage.

 _That’ll break your ribs almost certainly_ , he had told her when she’d suggested he retrieve her with the pod’s claw grabber. She had simply shrugged. _Won’t be the first time._

“So were you,”he replied as she sank into the co-pilot’s seat with a wince she almost managed to hide.“The city’s fallen. How could you be so sure about the reactor?”

He had toyed with the idea of targeting it, and then dismissed the notion. He had been certain they wouldn’t be able to break through its shields. It was the one thing he and his generals had agreed on.

“I grew up in a similar shithole,”she said.“No one admits all the tech is outdated garbage because no one wants the enemy to know. And the rich idiots running everything are deluded enough to buy the charade.” She seemed to only realise what she had said after she’d said it, awkwardly adding,“Commander, sir.”

It wasn’t as if she was wrong. He himself had made the mistake. He offered her a soft smile.“Please, call me Kasius.”

She scrutinised him for a few seconds that felt like forever, then nodded curtly.“Sinara.”

* * *

Kasius had always known his father had expected him to fail; that they had to return to Hala on such a miserable excuse for a spaceship only proved this. There had been no extraction plan because no one had thought there would be anyone left to extract.

They had been travelling for a week. A proper vessel would have made the trip twice in that time. Instead, they had one problem after the next.

At least Sinara was a decent mechanic, or else they would have long been stranded.

“Let me help you,”he said, offering her a hand.

Sinara only gave him a withering look, climbing out of the engine room without his assistance. She was still moving gingerly, but refused to admit she was in pain.

Not for the first time, he wished they’d have a healing tank. Though he doubted he could convince her to get into it even if they did.

“It should hold until Hala,”she said, sounding unconvinced. There was a black smudge on her throat he had never noticed before. He wondered if it was motor oil or perhaps her mark. He had yet to spot it.“It’s a shoddy fix but all we have.”

“It’ll be another three weeks at least,”Kasius replied. There were only so many places a mark could reasonably be, he thought, still fixated on the small discolouration on her throat. The touch had to be on bare skin.“I had to further throttle our speed to keep the engine from overheating.”

Perhaps she had caught him staring. Perhaps she had simply just noticed. Whichever it was, she reached up and wiped the fleck away.

He wondered if it was her hands, too. Maybe that’s why she always wore gloves.

“I’ll go lie down,”she said, eyeing him with suspicion.“I need some rest.”

So she had caught him. Sinara was not in the habit of admitting when she was unwell, so it could only be said to make sure he left her be.

* * *

There was something enrapturing about her when she slept, something that made him stare at her more than he’d like to admit. Perhaps it was the guileless openness of her face that was so at odds with the guarded reserve she exuded when awake. Perhaps it was how petite she seemed like this. Perhaps it was because it was the only time he could look at her as much as he’d like without causing irritation.

Or maybe it was just that he had nothing else to do for the hours he was scheduled to keep an eye on the controls. The course was set, and the occasional glance enough to make sure everything was running as smoothly as this piece of scrap ever ran.

She always slept the same, on her side, her legs pulled up against her chest, curled up as if intent on taking up as little space as possible. With the small cot built into one cockpit wall the only sleeping space they had, it was just as well.

Her lips were slightly parted, her eyelids fluttering with whatever dream she was having; the covers slid off her shoulder as she shifted a little. He sometimes wondered why she bothered with the blanket at all; she had complained about the broken thermostat more than once.

Personally, he found the temperature on the chilly side of acceptable.

“You’ll have to get used to it, the climate on Hala is comparable,”he had told her the day she’d torn the sleeves off her shirt because she found it too stifling.

There had been surprise in her eyes when she had looked at him then. They had not discussed her future before, and his intention to keep her at his side had somehow slipped out.

“I’m adaptable,”she had replied, a small smile stealing its way onto her lips.

He turned back to the control panel, and stayed that way when he saw his shift was almost over. It would not do for Sinara to catch him staring. He only turned around when she shut off the alarm herself.“Good morning, Sinara.”

“It’s evening.” She was sitting up on the cot and stretching; the way her taut muscles moved under her skin was familiar by now, though he did not think he’d ever tire of the sight.

“It’s morning for you,”he replied, getting an exasperated sigh in return. He liked to think there was some fondness to her irritation with him.

She crossed over to him and sat down in the co-pilot’s chair.“Go sleep, Kasius.”

He obliged, sliding under the covers she had just vacated. The bedding was already warmed by her body heat, the only time he could truly call his surroundings comfortable on this ship.

* * *

“We should arrive tomorrow,”Sinara announced.“Provided nothing else breaks.”

“Your unfailing positivity is my favourite thing about you,”Kasius gave back.“I can’t wait for a proper meal. Those pastes are utterly disgusting.”

“So you’ve mentioned.” She brushed her hair out with her fingers, then putting it into a sloppy braid.

He watched her fingers work, once again wondering why he had still not found a soulmark on her. Hands and arms were the most common spots for them, as his own pitch black palms and fingers attested.

It could say a lot about a person, where their mark was. Faulnak’s was on his knuckles, for example, and Kasius agreed that his brother was just the sort of person who would meet his soulmate by punching them. His mother’s had been a small circle on the back of her hand. He had traced across the colourful spot time and time again as a child. His father did not have a mark to match, but he had only understood that when she had been dead some years. Whomever her soulmate had been, she had met them, and married his father still. Perhaps had already been married to him.

“Kasius?”

He snapped back to the present at the sound of his name.“Sorry, what?”

“I asked if you’re sure I’ll be allowed to stay,”she said. She was chewing on her lower lip, not quite meeting his eye.

He almost reached for her hand, but then decided against it, settling for a reassuring smile instead.“Of course you will. You practically single handedly won us the war. Who could ask you to leave?”

* * *

His father, indeed, had no choice but to welcome them back as war heroes. Mayhaps he even was a little impressed. It was always impossible to tell what that man was thinking.

Either way, Kasius took delight in Faulnak’s expression when Father called a banquet in his honour, and announced his intention to bestow a title onto Sinara, and not simply an order of merit. Faulnak’s favourite Maston-Dar had never received such a reward. But then, he had never brought about the fall of an entire kingdom.

Once he had changed into his dress uniform and was satisfied with his make-up, he headed to the quarters Sinara had been assigned. Per his request, they were not far from his.

It was perhaps not entirely appropriate to seek her out before the festivities but after weeks spent crammed together in a few square feet of space he found himself missing her after only a few hours.

“Oh, good, it’s you,”she said as she opened the door, stepping aside to allow him into the room.“I thought it might be some servant again. I sent them away.” She grimaced.“They wanted to help me _dress_.”

“Well, you did fine by yourself.” He said it as a joke, but she truly looked beautiful. Unlike him, she was not in her military regalia. Her rank within the Empire’s forces would sharply rise as well, of course, but tonight was about her being made nobility. And she was made up accordingly.

Her dress was an almost black blue, her lips the same colour. Her eyes were ringed with black, and the specks of white powder dancing across her forehead and cheeks complemented the diamonds woven into her bodice.

“Did I?” She looked into the mirror uncertainly. For all her confidence on the battlefield, the prospect of a palace feast unnerved her.“Do I look like a viscountess?”

“Yes, and a beautiful one at that.” He considered her for another moment.“You should do something with your hair, though. I like it open, but it’s not really in line with court style.”

She sighed.“I’ll call the servant back, then. I don’t know how to do those overly elaborate braids.”

“I could braid your hair,”he offered. The words were out before he had time to think about them. He had always braided his mother’s hair, once upon a time.

Why Sinara should let him do hers was beyond him, and he was just about to apologise when she smiled.“Would you?”

She sat down at the vanity table and Kasius stepped behind her, starting to section off strands of hair. Her hair was silky soft, and he was so caught up in deciding on a style that he didn’t really register what he was seeing when the colours started spreading.

He let go as if burned the second he realised.

“What’s wrong?”Sinara asked.

In response, he held up his hand, the mark on his palm and fingers no longer pitch black but rather alive with more colours than he could count.

She frowned, taking his hand to inspect the soulmark closer.“But I have no mark. I’ve never had a mark.”

“Your hair,”he managed. For perhaps the first time in his life, he was at an utter loss for words. He didn’t like the feeling.

She picked up a handheld mirror to assess the state of her hair; now that he had let go, there were multiple small swatches of colour visible. Her frown only deepened.“Can you braid it so no one will see _that_?”

The last word was spat as if it was something repulsive.

He found himself complying, mind still racing. He had found his soulmate, and he genuinely liked her. And she looked as if he’d just somehow direly offended her and her whole family.

“Thank you,”she said once he was done, getting up and non-too subtly putting some distance between them.“Your Highness.”

* * *

That his father had chosen to elevate her to viscountess was of course an honour for her but simultaneously a slight to some of the families who liked to think of themselves higher than their rank truly allowed. For once, Kasius found his father’s paranoia fueled antics almost amusing.

And with the recent revelation, it was even more to his delight. He was only a second son. He could easily marry a viscountess, if he was so inclined.

“May I have this dance, my lady?” He offered her his hand, knowing full-well that she could hardly decline in a ballroom filled with people.

Her glare made it obvious that this was the main reason - or perhaps the only - that she accepted.“Don’t call me that.”

“Why not?” He moved them towards the middle of the dancefloor with each turn, away from his brother and father.“I was under the impression you’d preferred titles again.”

“Kasius,”she said, a warning and an acquiescence both.“I don’t want to talk about this. It doesn’t mean anything.”

That was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard.“Oh, of course, why would soulmarks mean something?”

“So it means we’re soulmates.” She rolled her eyes.“Which actually means nothing, so in turn the mark means nothing.”

* * *

Sinara did her best to avoid him the following weeks. But she needed his help to navigate her newfound position at court. And, if she was entirely honest with herself, she missed having him around. As annoying as he was, he had really grown on her.

Trust something ridiculous as the idea of soulmates to muddle things up. At least he had the decency not to make it any worse; he always wore gloves now, just as she took care to twist her hair into styles that showed none of the colourful strands.

While thankful for the gloves, she couldn’t understand how he could bare wearing them at all times. Even with the evening air on the terrace, she still found this place too warm for her liking. She sipped her iced drink, looking out over the city.“Fancy establishment.”

“Only the best for my soulmate,”he joked, raising his hands in an appeasing gesture when she glared at him.“The desserts here are delightful. You simply must try the brahr tart.”

She pulled a face. His idea of delightful was her idea of vomit inducingly sweet.“Pass, if it’s anything like that noosbry thing.”

“Sinara, I do learn.” His smile was so genuine, she could not help return it.“You’ll like it, trust me.”

She ended up ordering it, and did indeed like it. He was ridiculously smug about that.

* * *

“Sinara, a word?”

She turned to Kasius, just about suppressing a sigh of relief.

“If you’d excuse me,”she said to Roth-Kel, following Kasius down the hall before he could reply.

“So, the vultures have started converging on you?”he said without preamble.

Sinara nodded. A lot of the new money wanted the titles money could not buy, and the old nobility did not wish for their daughters to marry that kind. She had no family, but she did have her title.

Kasius rolled his eyes.“They are relentless. Everyone wants to rise up, no matter the cost. It’s quite pitiful.”

“Says the Emperor’s son,”she gave back.

“Touché.” He did not take offense to her words; with her privy to his plans of ridding himself of his father and brother, he really had no leg to stand on in this matter.“You realise they would leave you be if they just knew that you are my soulmate?”

“You realise I’m going to stab you if you bring that up again?”

He laughed, slinging an arm around her shoulder.“You wouldn’t, you like me too much.”

“Bring it up again, see what happens,”she shot back. She did not push his arm away.

* * *

“This,”Sinara said, gesturing vaguely between herself and Kasius, who was still lying in his bed,“changes nothing. Do you understand?”

He fought down an exasperated groan with everything he had. She refused to tell him just what it was that bothered her so much about being his soulmate. He had thought it was the fact that it was him at first, but it appeared to be a more general problem.

They got along splendidly, and had now even ended up in bed together. The problem couldn’t be him.

“Kasius, do you understand?”she repeated, twisting her hair into a tight bun, the coloured strands as always hidden away.

“I understand,”he said. What else was there to say?

“Good.” She relaxed visibly.“You don’t happen to know where my underwear has gotten to?”

He did not dare suggest she could spend the night.

* * *

Kasius had been careless for just a moment, and now the whole palace was abuzz with whispers about his soulmark no longer being black.

With Faulnak soon to be wedded, more and more of the factions took an interest in Kasius as a prospective husband for their daughters.

“It’s been like this for months, and now they’re all trying to prove one of theirs is my soulmate,”Kasius complained, sipping his wine.“As if it even matters. Malla is not Faulnak’s soulmate and they are betrothed anyway.”

Sinara hm’ed her way through his ranting, occasionally refilling both their glasses. Finally she had enough.“So which one of them do you want to marry? Since you have your pick.”

He laughed heartily, then realised she was utterly serious.“I don’t want to marry any of them. I want to marry you.”

She froze with her glass half-way to her mouth, gaping at him in disbelief.

“You’re drunk,”she eventually managed.

“I am,”he agreed.“That does not mean I don’t want to also marry you when sober.”

* * *

Sinara’s hair was fanned out across his pillow; even in the half-dark room, the colours were vibrant.

“Faulnak’s wedding is in just over a month,”he said.

Sinara didn’t even open her eyes.“I’m aware.”

Of course she was. They had been meticulously planning for close to half a year, now.

“It would be best if I was betrothed by then,”he continued.“Once I am Emperor, it will be harder to turn down the influential factions.”

He had thought he had breached the topic rather carefully, but her eyes instantly snapped open.“I’m not marrying you so you don’t have to share power.”

“This,”he raised his hand to remind her of the swirl of colours,“has nothing to do with me not wanting to share power.”

“I’m also not marrying you just because you believe in this soulmate nonsense and think the universe told you to.”

Kasius sighed.“You’re a bit of an idiot sometimes, aren’t you?”

“Excuse me?” The look on her face would have been funny if the topic wasn’t something so close to his heart.

“I don’t want to marry you because you’re my soulmate,”he said.“I want to marry you because you’re smart, and you’re brave, and you’re beautiful, and you listen to me, and you’re not afraid to challenge me. I want to marry you because you’re the first person I want to see in the morning and the last person I want to talk to at night. I want to marry you because I love you.” He leaned closer, pressing a short kiss to her lips.“The whole soulmate thing is an added bonus.”

She was speechless for a moment, then pulled him to her for another kiss.“In that case, I suppose I’ll marry you.”

* * *

He was crowned Emperor in mourning dress.

Having lost both his father and brother at the latter’s wedding feast was tragedy enough that he would have to wear white for quite some time. The palace guard had been doubled after the events a sennight ago, so everyone could feel safe at his coronation.

Most of the court was still in shock over it all. Kasius sometimes wondered if it was because they hadn’t thought of doing it themselves.

“A terrible thing, to kill a man at his wedding,”General Krenyk had said. He had not quite managed to sound as if he truly was sad. He had always had a soft spot for Kasius.“A good thing you had your betrothed at your side.”

“A good thing she was not gravely injured,”Kasius had returned.

Her arm was still in a sling as she sat at his side now, overlooking their new subjects. She had been the one to insist it would make their involvement less obvious if they were somewhat caught in the crossfire.

She wouldn’t be properly crowned until they were wedded, but she wore a gemstone circlet anyhow. It reflected the colours of her hair.

She had taken to wearing it open, and the style was catching on among the courtiers.

* * *

“Mama, I want to braid your hair.” Kaznaq climbed onto her chair, burying his fingers in her hair.“The way Papa did when he made the colours come. Tell me how it happened.”

“You know how it happened,”Sinara said, poking his belly playfully.“You must have heard the story half a hundred times.”

“I want to hear it again, Mama,”he complained as he already separated her hair into smaller strands to begin his braiding.

Sinara smiled at his insistence.“Kasius, come here, your son wants entertaining!”

It seemed Kaznaq would never tire of the tale. Luckily, Kasius never tired of telling it.


End file.
